James Frost
Gordon James
ChoEun Lee
Lee University will host a faculty recital with James Frost, tenor; Gordon James, horn; and Dr. ChoEun Lee, piano; on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Pangle Hall.
The concert will feature “Serenade” and “Canticle III: Still Falls the Rain” by Benjamin Britten as well as “Cantecor” by Henri Busser.
The poem on which “Canticle III” is based was written by Edith Sitwell, following the 1940 air raids on London, and first published in 1941.
“The poem is dark and full of the disillusions of World War II,” said Mr. Frost, associate professor of voice. “Imagine being in the bomb shelters with bombs falling down relentlessly like rain, which is still happening today. It speaks of the failure of man and of the yet unconditional love of God.”
Mr. Frost joined Lee’s School of Music faculty in 2007. In addition to directing Opera Theatre, he currently teaches applied voice. Prior to his arrival at Lee, Mr. Frost lived in Germany for 20 years where he gained professional experience at various opera houses such as Stadttheatre Hildesheim in Germany, Tiroler Landestheater in Austria, and regional theatres in the United States.
As Principal Horn of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Mr. James has been playing and teaching horn for over 30 years. He has performed with the Alabama Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony. Mr. James currently serves as an adjunct horn instructor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Southern Adventist University, and Lee. He has also attended the Roundtop Music and the Grand Teton Music festivals.
ChoEun Lee joined the School of Music faculty in 2016 and serves as an assistant professor in collaborative piano and vocal coaching. She has given numerous performances across the world in major venues including Carnegie Hall, Ozawa Hall (Tanglewood Music Center), and Harris Concert Hall (Aspen Music Festival). She was twice invited to the Tanglewood Music Festival and named a recipient of the Grace B. Jackson Prize. Dr. Lee has been invited as a repetitor to American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz and also world-premiered a co-commissioned vocal chamber music for soprano, saxophone, and piano by Lori Laitman in the National Opera Center in New York City.
The recital is free, non-ticketed, and open to the public. It will also be available via livestream at leeu.live.
For more information about the recital or the Lee University School of Music, email music@leeuniversity.edu or call 614-8240.